The race is on for the Fort Collins City Council to wrap up its business before the April 2 municipal election.

Several major issues on the council’s to-do list — including some that have been hanging around for years — are scheduled for up-or-down votes in the coming weeks. Getting everything addressed is expected to require special meetings in addition to packed agendas for its regular Tuesday night meetings.

Much work is in store for the council and city staff, said Mayor pro tem Kelly Ohlson, but pushing to get things done does not translate to hurrying things through.

“Crowded is not the same as rushed,” Ohlson said.

“I don’t think anything we’re doing has been rushed from the process side,” he said. “I think as an organization we tend to over-process things and drag them out way too long.”

Each council has a two-year work plan for projects it hopes to accomplish. It’s natural to want to complete projects after putting so much time and effort into them, said Mayor Karen Weitkunat.

But other council members say the push to the end feels like a rush that doesn’t equate to quality work. The council has slipped into the “silly season” and the campaign for the upcoming election, said Councilman Wade Troxell.

“I don’t think it is good process, good governance or good for Fort Collins to cram in all these big issues at the end,” he said. “If something is good for Fort Collins, it should be able to transcend councils and not be a trophy for an outgoing council member.”

Three new council members will be elected April 2. They will replace Ohlson and Councilman Ben Manvel, who are term-limited after two terms and eight years on the council, and Councilwoman Aislinn Kottwitz, who is not seeking re-election after one term.

The mayor’s post also is up for grabs, although as of press time, Weitkunat is the only declared candidate. The mayor’s post carries a two-year term.

Setting the pace

Among controversial topics the council is scheduled to address by the end of its term are size and design standards for the Eastside and Westside neighborhoods.

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After nearly a year of study and public outreach, a disputed proposal to tighten size limitations on homes was inserted into the discussion just weeks before the project came up for council action. Residents attending the final community meeting on the project were told there was no time left to include their comments in the final recommendations to council, Troxell said.

Revised standards for the neighborhoods have been under discussion for years with the goal of addressing issues that are important to residents, Manvel said. It’s a project he wants to see finalized before leaving the council.

“I’m happy to be able to work on things I’ve been studying for years and to be able to contribute at the end,” he said.

The pace at which a council-mandated public process moves along can be frustrating for those who participate in it, said Clint Skutchan, CEO of the Fort Collins Board of Realtors. For example, the proposed Student Housing Action Plan has been under discussion for two years with many topics covered.

But the weightiest issues, which may require changes to the city’s Land Use Code, weren’t tackled until the end of the process and the product was sent to council, he said. The council should give more thought to what they hope to accomplish during the course of two years, Skutchan said.

“It’s a matter of prioritizing how much they want to take on,” he said. “Right now they are a little scattered.”

Many projects

Some topics on the council’s radar are not tied to its work plan, said Councilman Gerry Horak. Special meetings regarding the redevelopment of the Foothills Mall and Woodward’s proposed headquarters campus in North Fort Collins are related to development timelines for the projects.

Horak said he does not think in terms of policy decisions as being “trophies” for council members. What matters is whether policies stand up over time.

Some issues do seem to take “forever” to decide, Weitkunat said, but that goes with having a public process. Controversial topics — such as the Eastside-Westside standards — demand time-consuming outreach and conversation.

“I think it’s appropriate that this council comes to some kind of conclusion on these issues,” she said.

Two years ago the council was swept up in a rush to get things done just before the council election, Kottwitz said. But this time the pace is even more hectic.

Kottwitz said she is concerned about city staff’s ability to do quality work in such a short timeframe. The urgency to get things done is not necessary if the proposed policies are sound, she said.

“I think 90 percent of what’s been going on the last month and the end of council is politically driven,” she said. “It’s one of the most political situations I’ve seen on council in the last four years.”